Seville Olympic Stadium was the place where Barcelona and Athletic Club played the Copa del Rey final. We got the player ratings.
FC Barcelona had a major appointment with destiny today against Athletic Club Bilbao, they had a Copa del Rey final to play. At the start of the season, we saw how Messi decided to tell the club that he wanted to leave. This officially placed the club in a major crisis that took months to overcome. Barcelona needed to call for a new election to sit a new president who could convince Messi to stay. Ronald Koeman also arrived during this troubling period while knowing that his time at the club could be limited.
However, he never gave up on his dream of coaching the club of his life. We can’t forget that this man was the main responsible for FC Barcelona’s first Champions League in history. It took him a massive effort to get to this point, and he obviously wanted to do it as well as humanly possible. His tactical approach was the same defensive line with five players that’s done wonders for him. Although they didn’t score a goal in the first half, Barcelona dominated throughout the entire match.
Griezmann opens the count to a festival.
Antoine Griezmann was Ronald Koeman’s biggest doubt for tonight’s match. It was either him or Dembele playing next to Leo Messi. In the end, he decided to use Antoine in one of the best decisions of the entire year. The French forward opened the count to a goal-festival after an assist from Frenkie de Jong. Not long after that, the Dutch midfielder scored with a precise header after an assist from Alba.
Then came Leo Messi’s personal seal. The Argentine scored a brace that placed him back as one of the most decisive players in the world when he plays finals. Today, he was even selected as the final’s MVP thanks to his two amazing goals. For a club that is in crisis, this isn’t bad at all is it? La Liga is the other tournament Barcelona has left to play for. We are about to witness an exciting end of the season in Spanish football.
Player ratings
Athletic Club Bilbao: Simon (4), Balenziaga (4), De Marcos (4), Martinez (5), Yeray (5), Garcia (6), Garcia (5), Lopez (5), Muniain (5), Williams (5), Berenguer (5).
Bench: Lekue (5), Vesga (5), Villalibre (5), Nuñez (5), Yuri (5).
FC Barcelona: Ter Stegen (7), Alba (8), Pique (8), Lenglet (8), Mingueza (8), Dest (7), Busquets (8), De Jong (9), Pedri (8), Messi (9), Griezmann (9).
Bench: Roberto (7), Dembele (7), Braithwaite (6), Ilaix (6), Araujo (6).
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